The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

I HAVE profound respect for Dr Ranford Patterson, former head of the Bahamas Christian Council.

Patterson stirred up a hornet’s nest when he told FNMs at Cousin McPhee Cathedral that if the party wants to remain in office it must listen to the Church.

Many who adhere to the secular tenet of the seperation of church and state took grave umbrage to Patterson’s comments for obvious reasons.

I agree with Patterson when he said that the greatest mistake anyone can make is to go against God, although the platitude of the voice of the people being the voice of God is unbiblical.

Suppose the electorate votes overwhelmingly in support of same-sex marriage, should we then conclude that God has finally decided to sanction same-sex marriage, as if biblical morality is fluid? Of course not.

Both the Church and the state are divinely appointed institutions with clearly defined roles. Both must stay in their lanes. The Church acts as the prophetic voice of the nation.

One such prophetic voice the Bahamas deeply misses today is that of the late Dr Myles Munroe. The Church is tasked by God to provide moral guidance to the nation as well as to the civil institution we ordinarily call the government. Such was the case throughout Old Testament history. Virtually every king of the Southern and Northern tribes of Israel had a prophet who spoke on behalf of Yahweh. As the German Reformer Martin Luther stated in his commentary of the New Testament Book of Romans, the state ministers to the outward man whereas the Church ministers to the inward man.

Luther lived in an age when the Catholic church wielded tremendous power over the secular realm. That was one of the tragedies of the Dark Ages which the Church is largely responsible for. Perhaps that is why the reaction to Patterson’s statement has been so hostile. But in fairness to the clergyman, his comments must be taken into proper context. I don’t believe Patterson would want to undo all that Protestantism has achieved since Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Philip Melancthon and John Huss.

KEVIN EVANS

Freeport, Grand Bahama

May 22, 2017